Billions and billions of dollars in contracts are awarded every year to small and minority owned businesses by large corporations. Drawing from my nearly 20 years of experience in key roles, including corporate purchasing agent, supply chain consultant, supplier diversity professional, and small business coach, I will teach you how you can successfully compete for your share of this multi-billion dollar pie.

Here are the webinar details:

• ​Tuesday, January 17th
• 7:30 PM EST

Click here to register and you will receive all the log in information by email.

FREE E-Book!
Every webinar attendee will receive a free copy of my new e-book, Relationships to Revenues, which provides dozens of tips to help small businesses win big contracts with large corporations. You will also get some additional gifts focused on helping you grow your business.

So make sure you register for your spot today to get this exclusive information that you will find few other places.

I am always amazed by people in history who overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to do something extraordinary, especially in the light of conditions that were intentionally set against them. One of their commonalities is they usually had great vision to see beyond their circumstances into a future that was very different from their present situations. Harriet Tubman definitely fits this description.

​As the engineer of the Underground Railroad, she no doubt had to overcome so much of what she saw in the natural and trust the faith that was guiding her. She had to be a BIG dreamer. I love this quote of hers...

I believe this quote is a great mantra for today's teenagers who are the next generation of world changers, entrepreneurs, inventors, pastors, politicians, leaders, etc. They absolutely need to be in environments that cultivate their creative capacity, energize their intellectual potential, and stimulate their spiritual development.

At Kinsman Community that's exactly what we're doing as we provide programs that build teens financially, socially, and spiritually. We're catalyzing their dreams and helping turn them into reality.
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​Learn more about how we work with at-risk youth and how you can support us at www.mykinsman.org

I am extremely excited and encouraged as I hear more stories of successful businesses started by teens becoming more frequent. In fact a recent article in Harvard Business Review, Meet the Teenagers Who Found Their Own Startups, highlighted research of the characteristics of teens who had started their own successful companies.

If we want these instances to be become more frequent, we definitely need to understand what it takes for this current group of exceptional teens to excel. The article stated that...

This is why at Kinsman Community we're excited about working with at- risk teens to help them build successful businesses. Entrepreneurship training is an incredible vehicle to help them build their future, break generational cycles of poverty, and transform their communities. Sometimes all a teen needs is exposure to the right opportunity and you will see them flourish.

The more we understand what is required for teenagers to build a successful business, the more we can integrate these principles across the board no matter what kind of community a teenager may come from.

Click here to learn more abou how we help at-risk teens start profitable businesses.

The Kinsman Story
My wife, Shawnice, and I have been investing in the lives of teens for more than 15 years. Our passion for seeing at-risk youth succeed in every area of life led us to launch Kinsman Community (Kinsman) in 2014 in the South Atlanta community. Our non-profit organization is dedicated to providing leadership, workplace development, and entrepreneurship training to at-risk youth in Metro Atlanta ages 11-18. 

After many conversations with community leaders, local church leaders, and leaders of other local nonprofits, we decided to offer our first entrepreneurship camp in South Atlanta in June 2014. The program drew over 25 students and the excitement and initiative we saw in them prompted us to continue to grow our programs in the S. Atlanta community and beyond. Since that time we have expanded our programs to serve more than 100 youth and young adults all over Metro Atlanta.

2017 Program Goals
2017 is fast approaching, and we are expecting to serve more than 100 middle and high school students across Atlanta. We are raising funds to ensure that we have the appropriate resources to serve them with excellence through three key programs:

1) Inc. My Dream Young Boss Summer Camp - Entrepreneur Startup
2) L.E.E.P. (Leadership Employment Empowerment Pathway) - Career Development
3) Club D.A.R.E. (Dreams Are Realized Everyday) - Monthly Business Coaching

Programs Needs to Turn Dreams into Businesses
Your donation will help to cover needed resources to turn dreams into businesses including: 
- Trainers and staff
- Startup capital for business competition winners
- Office supplies
- Equipment
- Transportation for events
- Meals and snacks 

Thank You!
The success of our organization is dependent upon the financial support of community-centered organizations and individuals like you. Your donation today will provide the resources for Kinsman to continue providing this valuable training, instruction, and investments into the students.

Learn more about Kinsman Community at www.mykinsman.org.

The workplace is a much different place today than it used to be. One area where it has changed a lot is employee training. In times past companies were willing to hire unskilled workers and invest the time and money to train them them until they became skilled. That is definitely not the case today.

A recent Gallup survey stated that 33% of CEOs don't believe college graduates have the necessary skills and competencies their business needs. Another poll by CareerBuilder.com ​found that nearly 80% of managers are at least somewhat concerned about current and potential employees lacking required skills, but just about 40% are doing anything to alleviate it

What I infer from putting these studies together is that although companies recognize the lack of certain skills in the marketplace, they are often unwilling to invest the time and money to help people get up to speed. They see it as your problem to fix, not theirs.

So what does that mean for you? Right or wrong, this is the new reality of the American worker. It means you are going to have to invest in your own development in order to move your career forward. You will have to take personal responsibility for developing the necessary skills to stay in demand and ahead of your competition.

Now some people might look at this and say they need to go get more formal education. And while this may be a good option for some, for many others it isn't based on money, lifestyle, lack of time, etc. For these people, which might include you, another option is more suitable: short, inexpensive, on-demand, online training courses where you can learn specific skills directly related to your job or business.

One benefit of this second pathway is that it eliminates all of the unrelated courses you have take in traditional educational programs while pursuing the exact skills you need to acquire. So the focus is on learning, not just doing work to get a grade.

Another benefit is that it's easier to pay for one specific course at a time versus having to spend a lot of money or take out student loans, which leads to a whole host of other issues down the line.

​A third benefit of online training courses is that you can start many of these courses on-demand at your convenience and work around your busy schedule.

This is why I'm excited about the relaunch of my online business school. A few of the benefits of my courses include:

1. Gain skills and knowledge from the latest business best practices.
2. Only the specific information you need without the fluff.
3. Short courses that are only 6 to 8 units so you have a definitive beginning and ending. 
4. Instant access to a private online portal for all of your courses.
5. Multi-media content for different learning styles.
6. Accessible through my mobile app (coming soon!) so you can learn on the go at your convenience.
7. So much more!!!

In the past as high school students were graduating from college, very few options were presented to them as it relates to starting a career. These options usually revolved around these three: 1) College, 2) Trade-related jobs, or 3) Military service. Fortunately today, with the advent of low-cost do-it-yourself technology, high school graduates who are deciding which direction to move forward in their work lives have a few more options to consider.

Thinkific, a leading online course software platform, recently published an article that highlights the potential of anybody becoming an entrepreneur by launching an online business through creating and selling online courses even if around the typical high school graduation age. The article, Unsure About College? Be An Online Entrepreneur Instead, highlighted five considerations for this steadily increasing market opportunity:

1. The market for online courses is exploding (see graphic above).
2. You don't need to be a technology expert to build an online business.​​ The tools are extremely easy to use.
3. Your age is not a factor. Your expertise is what matters.
4. Online course building tools cost a whole lost less than they used to.
5. You can get started fairly quickly.

Full disclosure: I am a customer of Thinkific. And this was one of the best business decisions I have ever made in my more than 10 years of being a full-time entrepreneur. Over the past 15 years I have traveled all over the United States and around the world teaching workshops and training leaders on how to start and grow businesses. However, this platform is revolutionizing my business because I am able to easily produce content that available immediately, I can quickly update and refresh any of my outdated curriculum, and I can increase my reach around the world exponentially. I currently host several of my business training courses on their platform (just here to access my courses).

There's no better time than now to become an online entrepreneur, especially if you're not sure if college or a job is the right choice for you. However, like starting any business, becoming a profitable and sustainable online entrepreneur takes a lot of passion, patience, and perseverance. But the great thing is that all the tools are available and easily accessible to you to get it done.

​*You can read the entire Thinkific article here: http://blog.thinkific.com/unsure-college-online-entrepreneur/

So how can training youth in the areas business, entrepreneurship, and leadership help to bring reconciliation to an inner city community like South Atlanta? Listen to Dan and Q explain it...

We are very excited about this year's Inc. My Dream Young Boss Camp. However, we can't make this an unforgettable experience without your help.

Your tax-deductible donation will enable us to facilitate this effective entrepreneurship and life skills training. Your donation will also help us to continue our engagement with these students throughout the school year.

To give just go to www.mykinsman.org/donate.

In the coming days we will be releasing a series of videos that will provide some different vantage points from those who live and serve in the South Atlanta community. We are excited to share their insights on what they believe is needed to help their neighborhoods prosper and to create better opportunities for the youth and young adults there; and how Kinsman is helping to empower them.

Click below to learn more about our free Inc. My Dream Young Boss Camp for middle and high school students! We have some excited new offerings this year. In addition to teaching them how to start businesses we will also provide more of an emphasis on STEM/STEAM topics. They will have a chance to interact with experts in the following career fields:

• Music
• Arts
• Science
• Technology
• Recreation

Click now to learn more!